


She Will Be Loved

by MadJJ



Series: Starkinelli Shorts [10]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Barely appears in a paragraph but might as well tag it, F/M, Howard being uncharacteristically romantic, Meet-Cute, Mention of Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, and also being very supportive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-13 06:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21490123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadJJ/pseuds/MadJJ
Summary: The words of Soulmarks aren't always romantic; even when they are supposed to be, they tend to sound a bit creepy.Angie finds her Soulmark perfect.
Relationships: Angie Martinelli/Howard Stark
Series: Starkinelli Shorts [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1512605
Kudos: 27





	She Will Be Loved

The context in which Angie would one day hear the words of her Soulmark was nebulous to her. It seemed to be the stuff out of dreams; something one could never expect to hear in real life.

There weren’t that many Soulmarks out there with words like ‘I love you’, or ‘Marry me’, which was what you often found in badly written romance novels. A bit creepy to say that to a person you had just met. Angie’s Soulmark had the same brand of dreaminess to it, but without any of the weirdness that came with it – at least, in her opinion. She _might_ have been biased.

Her Soulmate’s Words brought her consolation when she was failing her last year of high school because she was worried about her brother, gone in Europe to help in the War effort.

They got her to push through the anxiety of losing her first job to find another in order to support her family.

They comforted her after every (numerous) failed auditions.

Angie had the utmost confidence that she would – at the very least – like her Soulmate. There were so many horror stories out there about Soulmate disliking each other yet being stuck together by fate. Her Soulmark made her certain that it would not be her case.

Her Soulmate might lack in discernment though, she thought whenever she focused too hard on the first part of the words written on her.

* * *

While waiting for his Soulmate, Howard didn’t mind having a bit of fun. A reasonable amount of fun. All right, _a lo_t of fun.

He simply didn’t see the point in waiting around uselessly when he could educate himself in the ways of seducing women before meeting the real deal. And, if his Soulmate was truly meant for him, then she wouldn’t find any fault in his behavior, would she?

It simply bothered him that she hadn’t shown up already. There wasn’t truly a fixed age to meet your Soulmate – some met when they were five, others when they were forty. Some even later. Everyone agreed to say that the ideal was around twenty five though.

Howard was thirty one. He still had a lot of time, but he was an impatient sort. It amused him when people thought the last thing he wanted was to have his Meeting. The reality was that he had started to wonder how it hadn’t happened yet when he was always trying to meet new women.

He had had his fun, now he wanted more.

More importantly, considering what his Soulmate would tell him upon first meeting him, he wanted to make sure that she knew she would be loved.

* * *

It had been a very long day already. It would be her last working at the Automat.

Two years being a waitress there had taught Angie a lot. The first thing she had learned was that she did not enjoy being a waitress. The second was that being a waitress was a hard job with no rewards. The third was that blue was definitely her color.

If she was honest, she had also mastered the art of multitasking and had greatly improved her talent as an actress. The amount of clients she had fooled with a placid expression all the while insulting them copiously within the secrecy of her mind was impressive.

She would take all the lessons she had learned into the next part of her life.

She had earned a role. It wasn’t her first one, but it was the first one she knew she could rely for a steady income – as steady as you could get as an actor. At the end of her shift, she was quitting her job.

The only reason she hadn’t done so already was because she had promised Patty. She didn’t particularly like Patty. The other waitress always did everything in her power to do as little as possible. However, she had begrudgingly accepted to take over one of Angie’s shifts so the aspiring waitress could go to the audition that had gotten her a role. Angie felt indebted to her colleague and wanted to end her time at the Automat on a high note.

It was just her luck that Mr. Courtney, their superior, had chosen that day to show his face at his establishment. He rarely made an appearance, but whenever he did, it was to complain about his employees’ inadequacy. He never lacked words to explain to Angie how she wasn’t refilling the coffee machine in an efficient manner. Or how she didn’t smile enough. Or how she wasn’t holding her plate right.

As Patty did as little as possible, their boss didn’t observe as much of her in action and, consequently, had less remarks to make.

Angie was on her last nerve.

Patty had taken all the tables where a single person had sat, leaving Angie with two groups of four and another of five, in addition to a couple that was fighting over their milkshake in hushed tones. As far as Patty was concerned, since she was waiting four tables as well, their job was equally distributed.

Regardless of the work load she already had to put up with, when Angie saw Peggy and a man she didn’t know enter the restaurant, she immediately told Patty:

“I’m taking those two!”

Taking Peggy’s order was never a chore. Plus, a group of three had just arrived behind them and Patty couldn’t make Angie change her claim now.

* * *

“Why did you want us to meet here of all places?”

Howard looked around the restaurant – if one could really call it that – in disgust. This green color they had plastered everywhere on the walls and the seats did not make for an appetizing sight. In addition, even if they had taken a booth in the back of the place, he could still hear the loud echoes of the other patrons’ conversations.

“Don’t be such a snob, Howard, this place is lovely. Plus, I don’t think anybody would recognize you here. I thought you might enjoy the anonymity.”

“When have I ever enjoyed anonymity?” he raised an eloquent eyebrow.

“Look at it this way; Jarvis and I never got bothered when we met here in secret while you were hiding from the SSR. And I’ll have you know; they make excellent tea.”

The subject he wanted to address with Peggy was very serious; he did not find that the place reflected the sentiment at all. He knew Peggy didn’t put much value in his endeavors to create an alternative to the SSR, but he had an actual plan and he wanted her to hear him out. He doubted they could do so in such a place.

The only saving grace here seemed to be the very attractive waitress whose face had lightened up when she had seen Peggy enter. Between her bright blue eyes, the endearing curve of her smile and her long legs, Howard hadn’t needed further information to be satisfied of her presence at his and Peggy’s meeting.

“Hey!”

Peggy flicked a finger at his ear. Howard winced and brought his hand to where the prickling sensation had made his ear ring.

“What?”

“Don’t you dare be rude with her. She’s my friend.”

“Really? Would you introduce us?”

Peggy seemed two seconds away from kicking his shin under the table when the very subject of their discussion arrived at their table.

“Sorry for the wait, English,” she apologized to his friend while whipping out her notebook to take notes of their orders. “Having a bit of a crazy day here.”

* * *

Angie didn’t know who was the man Peggy was sitting with, even if he was a bit familiar, but she hoped he wasn’t her date. At least not in a romantic sense. There was something very beckoning about his face, even if he seemed to be pouting at the moment. A strange, childish-like expression in contrast to the well groomed appearance he kept. The odd contrast between the two made her think he would be fun to get to know.

Peggy took both of their orders though, and Angie left their table without knowing the first thing about the man.

She was trying to determine the color of his eyes – black or brown, she couldn’t have been sure – as she was bringing them their tea and coffee, when something made her trip.

It would have been charitable of Angie to think that Patty had meant no harm, but the way the foot of the black haired waitress had hooked around the brunette’s had felt very purposeful. It might have been retribution for forcing her to take the table with three people at it – unless it was pure pettiness. Whatever the cause, the result was the same.

Angie fell forward and had to catch herself on Peggy and her friend’s table. She managed to save the coffee, but the tea, in her left hand, spilled over the table and started to drip on the attractive man’s lap.

Angie heard Mr. Courtney calling her a klutz behind her. She ignored him, trying to focus on wiping the liquid before it stained the patron’s pants. She was such in a hurry to do so that she hadn’t even thought to put down the coffee cup and only used one of her hands.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do anything right-” she meant to say ‘today’, but she was cut off by another yell of her boss telling her to hurry up and she winced.

Before she had the time to scurry away though, Peggy's friend had gently but firmly grabbed her arm, making her look at him again. He ignored the tea that was dripping on his pants and looked at her straight in the eyes.

“You are perfect. I believe in you.”

Angie was astonished at hearing her Words and the intensity with which he had said them. A small, surprised and strange whimper escaped her lips as she tried to formulate a thought. All of her limbs went numb as her cheeks received a rush of heat. She didn’t expect her heart to be beating quite so loud.

The coffee cup she was holding in her right hand slipped out of her grip. It crashed on the floor, sending drops of burning coffee on her legs.

* * *

The girl - Angie, he had seen her name on her name tag - yelped when the coffee hit her legs, jumped back and thus broke the contact with his hands.

This was not how he had imagined his Meeting to go. In the middle of a crowded restaurant, splattered with tea and coffee and with his Soulmate inches away from geting cut by the porcelain bits of a broken cup.

The other waitress wasn’t making a move to help Angie, preferring instead to look over the chaotic scene with a mean gleam in her eyes. Howard’s anger towards her was only slightly mellowed by the fact that she had provoked their Meeting; he had seen her trip Angie and wondered how things would have unfolded otherwise.

The red-faced man with a bushy mustache certainly wouldn’t have been heading towards his Soulmate while spewing his insults at her. Everything happened very rapidly. He and Peggy exchanged a glance; she was even more surprised than him and looking at him like he had grown a second head. Considering the words that had just came out of his mouth, that was understandable.

Howard was about to intervene when Angie cut through her boss’ spiel with an exclamation of her own:

“I quit!”

Shit, did he just make his Soulmate lose her job?

Not that it really mattered, he had enough money for the both of them, but that wasn’t the best first impression.

“You can’t quit!” protested the beady-eyed man.

Angie was already unfastening her stained apron and bundling it up in her fist.

“The hell I can’t! I stayed here a day longer as a courtesy, but I don’t see any reason to do so when I’m not allowed half the respect I pay to you!”

“You’re an ungrateful brat!”

“I’m not your employee anymore, you don’t get to speak to me like that.”

“I’ll speak to you however I wish to-”

Angie turned away from the man and didn’t let him finish his sentence before addressing the two of them at the table.

“I’m really sorry about your drinks. I’ll pay for both of them. And I’m sorry I won’t be at your service for the rest of your meeting.”

“I don’t think we planned on staying much longer anyway,” said Howard as he got up from his seat.

“Nor on coming back for that matter,” approved Peggy, doing the same.

As they headed out, the unpleasant man tried to object again :

“You have to return the uniform!”

“I had to pay it with money from my own pocket!” Angie threw back at him over her shoulder.

Once they were outside, Peggy finally asked him:

“What just happened in there? Why did you…?”

She still seemed to process that he had said what he had said.

“I think that an introduction is in order after all, Peg.”

Peggy stared wordlessly between the two of them, but when she noticed that Angie was waiting for her as well, she did as he asked.

“Howard, this is Angie Martinelli. My roommate, best friend and, as of a couple of minutes ago, full-time actress. Angie, Howard Stark.”

Angie beamed at him, blinding him with her smile. He cleared his throat.

“That’s the part where you add something nice about me, Peggy.”

“Oh there’s no need,” Angie rolled up her already short sleeve to show the words written on her shoulders. “I already have a very biased opinion of you.”

He didn’t think someone might ever have a positive biased opinion of him some day but he wasn’t about to complain.

“You must be kidding me!” exclaimed Peggy after reading the Soulmark Angie was proudly displaying. “How did you, of all people, manage to give Words that are so romantic ?”

Howard had to stifle a laugh. The Words Peggy had received from Steve had been ‘Get away! Get back!’. He hadn’t managed to get the courage to speak to his Soulmate up until the point he was covering a hand grenade with his body. He had thought it would explode and was ordering her to stay away for her safety. The hand grenade was a test of character though; it never exploded.

Out of context, not the most romantic Words someone could grow up with; Peggy had been convinced until her Meeting that her Soulmate hadn’t wanted her.

“They were really helpful,” Angie took a step closer and his hand in hers. “I’m not so sure about the being ‘perfect’ part of it, but that was definitely a boost in confidence.”

He thought of the words on his own shoulder. At seeing them, it had become an automatic response to formulate a reassurance in his mind.

“I never believed the Words you gave me.”

Angie frowned and her nose creased.

“I don’t remember what I said.”

“Doesn’t matter ; it was nothing true.”

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason I could not think of another title, and now I will be stuck thinking about a Maroon V song whenever I look at it. Oh well.
> 
> Psst, I have a tumblr: https://mad-j-j.tumblr.com/


End file.
